No one in the SMU locker room will call Saturday's victory over No. 25 TCU a "statement win," but no one will argue that it wasn't exceedingly important, either.

The locker room celebration served as proof. The chatter outside the locker room as players left Amon G. Carter Stadium can be classified as Exhibit B to some form.

Saturday was huge in a variety of ways. It gave Dallas bragging rights with a win over Fort Worth in the underrated Battle for the Iron Skillet. It gave undefeated SMU a reason to have others notice that they're record isn't a fluke. And it also snapped a seven-game losing skid against a TCU team that entered the game with the No. 2 defense in the country.

It also gave the Mustangs their most-quality win in years.

"The culture is changing around here," linebacker Delano Robinson said.

How did SMU get the job done in front of 41,250 Saturday? Here are five keys to the victory:

Secondary play was solid

Max Duggan got his first start at quarterback for TCU. The freshman finished with 188 passing yards on 16-of-36 completions, but for the majority of the game, he was put in uncomfortable situations by a defense that wouldn't sit still.

Duggan missed on 10 of his first 11 pass attempts. He only had 22 passing yards by halftime. Credit that to SMU's secondary, which played arguably its best game of the year. Ar'mani Johnson was outstanding in coverage, and Rodney Clemons and Brandon Stephens and Trevor Denbow made life tough for receivers throughout the contest.

Sans a play or two, the SMU secondary had the kind of game that will make for a solid highlight reel. This also means that the team will have to be as good -- if not better -- for the rest of the season. It starts on the road against USF next Saturday.

Buechele played with a purpose

At Texas, Shane Buechele played TCU twice. He went 0-2 against the Horned Frogs.

Saturday's game was slightly personal for him -- and rightfully so.

In a game that meant a lot to him, he delivered. Buechele completed 23 of 34 passes for 288 yards and a touchdown. He made key throws in extremely timely situations.

One of his best throws of the day came with less than eight minutes in the fourth quarter. Rather than checking down for what could have been a short-yard to mid-range gain, Buechele went deep to Reggie Roberson Jr. for a 38-yard strike that put the Mustangs in field-goal range.

Later in the drive, SMU's Russell Roberts nailed a 32-yard field goal that ultimately was the game-clinching points.

Buechele's confidence continues to grow each week, and that is a good thing for an SMU team that has shown it can put points on the board against the best defenses. Not bad for someone who didn't even go through spring workouts with the team.

Capitalizing on turnovers

Saturday was not the cleanest game for TCU. The Horned Frogs fumbled six times and lost three, and they also threw more incompletions (20) than completions (16).

Of those three turnovers, SMU managed to score 11 points -- a touchdown, a field goal and a two-point conversion. When put in the right situations, the defense made plays, and the offense made sure those plays weren't made for show.

A fumble deep inside TCU territory resulted in an Xavier Jones touchdown and two-point conversion run by Ke'Mon Freeman. A strip sack by Turner Coxe, recovered by Demerick Gary, resulted in a last-second, 38-yard field goal by Luke Hogan to end the first half. Coaches will always speak about not leaving points on the field.

These scenarios are exactly what they are talking about.

Play of the pass-catching group

Buechele will get credit for a big game against a stout defense, but you have to tip your hat to the entire wide receiver corps. Five played tallied 23 catches for 288 yards. Two of those players -- Roberson and Kylen Granson -- averaged better than 20 yards per catch on Saturday.

Roberson was a playmaker in that he caught four passes for 122 yards. He averaged 30.5 yards per catch, including the 38-yarder that helped SMU seal the win with the field goal.

Granson also caught four balls and finished with 83 yards. His 20.8 yards-per-catch average seemed to be timely throughout the game, and he served as a reliable target for Buechele on third-down plays.

James Proche helped moved the chains, as he caught a game-high 10 passes Saturday. He finished with 66 yards and a touchdown. Proche was targeted 15 times.

Red-zone efficiency near-perfect

Few teams can say they made it to the red zone seven times against TCU at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Even fewer teams can say they scored points in six of those seven times.

SMU played like a team with no fear on Saturday. Rankings didn't matter. Competing against the No. 2 defense in the country didn't matter. And when they had the ball, the Mustangs wanted everyone to know their offense wasn't a fluke.

The Mustangs scored three rushing touchdowns and two passing touchdowns in the red zone. They would have had a fourth rushing touchdown had Buechele not been stopped on a fourth-down sneak in the first quarter.

Regardless, SMU played like a team that demanded respect.

And respect they earned Saturday.